Shapers of Miracles
by MirageCharon
Summary: Before the Generation of Miracles could reach the level of unbeatable as individuals, they needed opponents who could take them down and make them reach for higher. This is the unknown story behind the few individuals who would, in the end, help push them through the gate beyond being geniuses.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.

**Shapers of Miracles**

Summary: Before the Generation of Miracles could reach the level of unbeatable as individuals, they needed opponents who could take them down and make them reach for higher. This is the unknown story behind the few individuals who would, in the end, help push them through the gate beyond being geniuses.

* * *

It was during the end of the second year in middle school, when the Generation of Miracles had already been firmly established. Basketball training has been tougher than ever, in order not to let the reputation of being the strongest falter. Not that anyone believed for a moment that the Generation of Miracles could be defeated, not after the last tournament where every other school was crushed without fail.

Because of this newly amplified fame, the basketball courts and training areas were out of bounds to all but the basketball team. The irritating reporters were stopped at the gates after the school increased its security measures, but spies from other schools often infiltrated by dressing as Teikou's students, resulting in the basketball team banning all students not involved in basketball from the training grounds.

Of course, this pleased the manager of the team most, because she could finally get some peace and privacy for her team. True, she could counter most teams with her strategies and foresight, but Satsuki Momoi was not one to be over complacent. Even if it would not do any harm to their team, she still didn't like to have the team's training disrupted by spies or interviews. The coach occasionally allowed one or two interviews 'for publicity sake', but Satsuki knew that he only intended to give others hope, before crushing them utterly.

Satsuki was always able to understand the actions of their coach usually. It could be said that she was the only one who managed to comprehend the complex thinking of their coach, the only one whom he would actually listen to at times because she thought as far as he did. But for some reason, she could not agree with him on that one point. It was actually worse for the team now known as the Generation of Miracles excluding Kise.

From the start, there had been plenty of clashes between the team and the coach. First off was his decision to not let the first years play when they first entered Teikou, even though some of them were already better than the current starters. Aomine was furious, for he had looked forward playing ever since he discovered that he was stronger than the current power forward. It didn't help that the coach picked on him the most, especially when the team he was assigned to was not fast enough to match his pace. ('You did not watch out for your team mates, your teammates can't catch your pass, you can't shoot until your teammates scored at least once…')

And then, Murasakibara was forbidden to snack during trainings. At the height of 186cm in middle school, he was way too big for a first year middle-schooler. It did not help that the school did not allow him a bigger lunch serving, for all the school lunches were ready-packed and each student could only get one. He was a growing boy, for heaven's sake! He had to snack in order to keep active, but the rules were rules and the coach did not want any bad examples in the team. And with that lack of sugar, Murasakibara was sluggish and inattentive at most times, causing him to be punished with even more training and resulting in a vicious cycle of sluggishness and bad temper.

Midorima had a surprisingly normal conflict with the coach. Due to his budding talent as a pianist, Midorima could not afford to injure his fingers. He did take up basketball as recreation, because the elder sister next door once told him not to become fat. But basketball was a rough sport, and Midorima had to take better care of his fingers or else his mother would be upset. The solution young Midorima came to was to bandage his fingers at all times, only removing them for piano recitals. From the first moment the coach saw him, he decided that Midorima unsuited for basketball, going as far as to encourage him to quit the sport in various ways. He even refused to let Midorima in for their trainings, on the account that he would never let an 'injured' student train.

Haizaki's problem with the coach was simple. He wanted to play however he liked, and he often distracted the others from their training just because he was bored of training. The coach would have none of that, and because Haizaki was the most vocal and violent first year, they had heated arguments and Haizaki was often banned from the gym, being forced to do his basic training outside without any team play. Besides, the coach was wary of letting him practice with other players in matches, because for some reason those players could never perform as well again once he mimicked their plays. And Haizaki was certain to do it, if he thought it would be fun to mess with the other players.

The coach had his hands full with these four pig-headed first years, great potential or not. Since he was busy with the third years, he dumped them on Satsuki, a relatively well groomed basketball manager and the then mild-mannered Akashi. It took the combined efforts of the two to make a team out of those four.

To this day, Satsuki had never figured out if picking Akashi as part of the team was an intentional act or not. Regardless of how it happened, by the time the team had their first official match with other schools, Satsuki gained a new appreciation for the coach. Aomine had started passing balls around, Midorima had consented to keeping the bandages off during matches, and Murasakibara would only eat during breaks, consuming only quick snacks. Haizaki learned some measure of calmness, and Akashi…

Akashi became the respected leader who could get the team to move where he wanted them, by hook or crook. By the half year mark, even Satsuki was in awe of Akashi, because he noticed things that people usually would not, and used them to move others as he wished to, when he wished to. After all, he was the one who connected Midorima's obsession of bandaging fingers to his piano lessons, and even traced it further back to Midorima's small crush on the elder sister next door who did the taping for him. Midorima would not say anything, of course, but he did listen to Akashi, especially once Akashi pointed out that it was easier to impress people if he did well in basketball.

Satsuki could only connect as far as the piano lessons before shutting off, because piano had nothing to do with basketball. It was only because Akashi had to leave the team in her hands while he trained another newcomer in a special style of basketball that she got the full story of how to handle Midorima. And because it was Akashi who told her, Midorima did not protest as much as he would have wanted to. After all, Akashi always had his reasons. The others had similar experience with the team leader, but that was a story for another day.

The team would never openly admit it, but they too, started to see things from the coach's point of view after awhile, even if they would not accept it. Because if there was one thing the team had in common with the coach, it was to win.

The coach might have known that his direct involvement in their training would be detrimental to their unstable relationship, and hence ever since the start of the second year, Satsuki had full control over the team's training. She had proved her worth during the first year, according to the coach, and she was probably the only one who knew how to grow the individual members as well as he did.

As for the coach and her… well, they both had the passion for basketball, and the same passion to win. But the coach's way of doing things were sometimes too extreme for her tastes, and Satsuki often find herself using her own initiative to soften the measures and keep things in check. It was good that she had full control over the team's training, because she was certain that the coach would not have allowed that many oddities of the team to surface. Well, as long as it did not interfere with her plans for the individuals members, she could negotiate.

Satsuki would often find different ways of training and then compared the results against that of the coach's. One might called it her rebellious phase, but Satsuki merely wanted to show the coach that there was more than one way of doing things, and a softer approach might work better actually. She often bet her pride on the new training regimes, and the coach had acknowledged her methods at times.

The tightening of the security was a good move, extreme measure or not. It had the additional effect of allowing her to conduct her training trials in private, especially since the coach had to leave the country for three months to fulfill his duties to the association worldwide. Not just the starters' team she had up until now, but the whole basketball club consisting of a hundred over basketball players was hers to play with until the coach came back.

Her team actually cringed when they saw her excitement at the prospect of being the replacement coach, because they had tasted first hand just how bad training could be with her in charge. Aomine actually considered encouraging the others to skip practice for a good cause, but one look from Satsuki stopped him. Basketball maniac or not, he did not think he could survive if his training was tripled. And Satsuki would definitely do it if he was to spoil her fun. Anyway, it was none of his business what happened to the others, as long as he could escape being the guinea pig for Satsuki. He already had enough throughout childhood, thank you very much.

Regardless of what they thought, everyone in the basketball club could tell that Satsuki was most happy with the recent turn of events. And given just how strongly she advocated for the privacy of their training, they were all mildly surprised when Satsuki showed up at the gym three days after the coach left, with a big smile and two strangers in tow.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Kuroko no Basuke belongs to Fujimaki Tadatoshi.

**Shapers of Miracles**

* * *

There were various degrees of surprise amongst the students. Some students vaguely wondered if they were new students, since both were wearing Teikou's Middle School uniforms and they were actually in the gym. Since the coach had finalized the privacy agreements with the principal one month ago, being able to step into the gym meant that they were part of the club, or at least had obtained special permission to be there.

Both the boy and the girl were relatively tall for middle school students, but it was not that obvious since this was where the tall students gathered. From afar, that was about all that could be said about them. Since it was a boys' basketball club, it was not strange that curious eyes were drawn towards the female, as much as could be observed from that distance.

It was not that she was pretty, or even cute (at this distance). She was not even as well developed as their team manager and current replacement coach, Satsuki. If she did not come in with Satsuki, or if they had met her elsewhere, she would just be another student, another classmate, nothing too impressionable about her.

But now, with the additional scrutiny, there seemed to be something about her that drew people's eyes towards her. Perhaps it was the way the girl held herself. No regular middle schooler would radiate that much confidence in such a casual pose. Leaning her weight on one leg with the other slightly crossed, she tilted her head as her eyes tracked the movements of the boys, seemingly to take in everything at one go. For some, it eerily reminded them of their dear captain, Akashi Seijurou, and most members averted their eyes when they felt that she was looking at them. It seemed Akashi had made such an impression, the rest would not likely forget for a long time.

Of course, those who were doing basic training had a few more moments to spare, and they took a quick look at the boy. He was even more normal looking than the girl. From his lean build, they guessed that he would have been one of those fast players, if he did play basketball. His height was nothing to scoff at for a middle school student, but height did not matter that much ever since the Generation of Miracles appeared. After all, who would dare look down upon their fearsome captain? A rare few students also vaguely remembered a blue-hair player who played in some matches, and he was not that tall either. Or was he? Somehow, their memory did not extend beyond a glimpse of said phantom player, and all they remembered was that he was remarkable for some reason or another.

In any case, this sudden situation did not concern them, because they were already feeling the fatigue creeping onto them. If they had time to be looking around, they had time for more training. The assistant managers too, were relentless in keeping watch, making notes about the players that needed more work. Satsuki was really a demon, as Aomine had often complained loudly. Three days after their coach left them in her hands, and the club's members already felt as if they had undergone a full summer training camp. They could now fully empathize with Aomine, since his trainings were most often planned by her. But the same rule applied. If they had time to empathize, they had time to improve themselves further with more training.

So after a short moment of surprise, most had turned back to their exercises. Most, of course, did not include Kise Ryouta of the Generation of Miracles. He had only joined the first-string one year ago, and had fought his way to becoming one of them. Despite his seriousness during training, he was a people person, meaning that he had to get his social fix even during training. So what if his trainer, his dear Kurokochii, was ignoring him right now because he was late for training by a few minutes? There were two more newcomers to meet with, and he would brave the dangers of Satsuki's extra training in order to offer a smile and friendly introductions.

Striding over with sweat-covered, sticky clothes, Kise approached the trio, who had moved to where Satsuki usually occupied. You have to give him credit, for being confident enough to greet girls when he was attired as such. Most guys would not have risk it. Not to mention, if anyone else had done that, they would find themselves either saddled with twice as much cleaning work after training, or quitting the basketball club entirely. Teikou did not suffer fools, but it certainly tolerated models who brought along better reputation for the school.

"Momoicchi, you're back. Are they newcomers for the team?" Kise greeted cheerfully while taking a good look at the newcomers discreetly. They looked to be rather mature for first year middle school students, so they might be transferring instead of just starting out in middle school.

The girl, Kise noted, had a sharp eye and seemed to be hiding quite some knowledge behind her innocent looking expression. If she was joining the team, it would be likely that she would take Momoi's position after they graduated. But still, won't it be better if they picked someone who had worked with the team before, instead of a new stranger? Even when Momoi had first joined, Kise heard that the position of manager was not given to her despite her overwhelming talent at basketball and coaching. Although admittedly, it was only a few months before she became the official manager, with everyone consulting her on everything.

The boy, on the other hand, had nothing special on him. He did not have overwhelming height like Murasakibara did, and his build was lean. If he was a player, he would not have been very powerful, and might simply be one of those who relied on speed. But then again, after learning about Kurokocchi, Kise was hesitant to judge so quickly.

"Ki-chan, if you stop your training now, I'll make sure you do extra training before going home." Satsuki smiled threateningly and he cowered back. Since she was in a good mood, Satsuki took pity on him and said, "But I won't be rude. This is Hashimoto Yuuka, my close friend, and her charge, Yoshika Michiaki. Yuu-chan, Michi-kun, this is Kise Ryouta, one of the strongest players in my team."

"Aww Momoicchi, I'm not that good yet." Kise scratched the back of his head with a grin while the two nodded their greetings.

"I'll explain everything later. Now go back to training before you make Tetsu-kun angry yet again." Satsuki narrowed her eyes at him. Kuroko had turned over with a perplexed look, and Satsuki did not want her crush to be upset. Not to mention that she had better do the introductions later, depending on what was decided.

There was nothing more to do besides listening to her request, Kise thought. After all, he really should be trying to improve his skills in order to beat Aominecchi. Not to mention, Kurokocchi would probably forgive him if he trained harder for today. And no, the oppressing aura from a certain captain from the other end had nothing to do with his returning to training.

If he had noticed the newcomers during the rest of the basics training, he would have found that his initial assessment of them was correct. The girl, Hashimoto, was quietly trading opinions with Satsuki throughout the training, and the boy, Yoshika, appeared to be watching the six of them discreetly. Satsuki had probably pointed them out to the newcomers. But close friends or not, Satsuki was not one who would bring strangers here if it was not related to their training and growth.

So what was she planning?

When the basic stamina training was over, team training commenced. The first string members would break into groups and compete against each other and the loser teams would be in charge of cleaning up the stadium afterwards. The second-string and third string members would resume skills training on the other side of the gym if they did not wish to watch the first string's matches – they would have team training later. Not even Satsuki could manage to track more than three different matches at the same time, specialist in data gathering or not. Thus, it was planned such that the first string members could have more time for individual training later, once they received the new set of data from her observations of team play.

There were at least five from each batch of new students, and Teikou's first string currently stood at twenty men strong. The Generation of Miracles was, of course, divided amongst the others. Having them as one team meant that they would overwhelm the others and that would defeat the point of this training. Not to mention that Satsuki wanted to find out who would work well together, in case something did happen and they needed a replacement.

It was not likely, but Satsuki was nothing if not prepared. She had been gathering such data from since the first day she entered the club, and she was aware of how the team should be divided at this moment. She had promised a good show for Yuu-chan after all.

Even amongst the first string, there were people who complimented each other and others who would only disrupt the team flow if placed together. Some players could adapt into the supporting role quickly, but others did better in shining on their own.

Satsuki understood this when the coach said that he would not be using the newcomers in their first year, even though Aomine was cursing throughout the competitions that season. The third years were shining so brightly that if Aomine or any of the others were to be placed on that team, they would be forced to support the seniors in their plays. This would have diminished the first year's full potential, and they might never have been crowned as the Generation of Miracles otherwise.

In the history of Teikou, it was a curse to be one of those supporting players, for you would never get to shine. Even if you worked three times as hard, it was still useless, because if you did not prove to be one of the key players who shined, you would be replaced easily. There were too many players in the basketball club, and hence an average student would only get to play in two unofficial matches throughout their time in Teikou.

But ever since the Generation of Miracles had taken over, the 'curse' became a blessing. Because now, only supporting characters would ever be allowed on the court, in order to enhance the abilities of the Generation of Miracles. Putting the others who shined brightly on their own with the Generation of Miracles would only caused conflicts between the team until one side gave up. Usually, it was the others who would give up.

Wakahisa Shuichi and Kato Eiji were two of those blessed players. They were first years who joined the basketball club this year, which was also the second year for the Generation of Miracles. So they had never been under the effects of the 'curse'. And Satsuki knew from the way those two played in the tryouts that they were leaning towards the supporter players. Sure, they had their own talents, and they were good at it. But they were just not as good as the regular starters and hence would never get the chance to play in an official match. However, for the training matches with other schools, those two stand a good chance for being selected, since the coach would only send one or two of the regular starters for those matches.

And in a way, Tachibana Shou and Nakamura Kenji from the same batch were even more fortunate. Those two belonged to the latter group who would excel if they were allowed to shine. Each had his own special skill, with Nakamura having a sky hook shot due to his height, and Tachibana being able to jump. As mentioned earlier, they would hardly ever get the chance to play in a match against other schools. But they were often selected as opponents for the regular starters, so they gained experience by playing with the best. Not to mention, by the time the Generation of Miracles graduated, they would have become experienced players who would sail through any challenges. Those two would be the main core of the regulars once the Generation of Miracles left.

It would be harsh to say that they simply chanced upon a good timing in Teikou, because both of them were selected out of twelve others who gave up after facing the overwhelming strength of the second years. All fourteen first years had talent, but it was only their determination that separated them from the others. To have enough determination to get through all the difficulties in retaining their light under the bright sun of the Generation of Miracles was no easy feat. And it was that which would bring them even further.

But all that aside, those four first years would likely be the best bet for the team training today. Satsuki understood that Yuuka wanted to observe the standard of the team known as the best, and in a way she wanted to show off her team as well, especially if the other girl was one who understood and could comprehend her pride in her team.

Leaving Yuuka and Michiaki at one side, Satsuki walked over to where her team had gathered for breaks. She handed a towel and a bottle of water to Kuroko, and beamed when he thanked her. Since he was late while searching for Kise, he did not have time to pack his own water and hence Satsuki had taken it upon herself to do it.

She then chucked another bottle of water at Aomine, who had lain down on the court after his basic training. He caught it deftly, and muttered his thanks halfheartedly. After all, Satsuki was the one who ordered him to do twice as much as the others since he had to make up for being late to training yet again (he had overslept on the roof). It was not his fault that there were no clouds in the sky and since he could feel the sun, he had thought that it was still early in the day. But Satsuki merely dragged him all the way to the gym, even though he was still half sleep, and then doubled his basic training for the day. At least she was kind enough to prepare his water…

Satsuki turned to the remaining four. Kise had sat down on the bench, breathing heavily. He had to sprint in order to finish his laps at the same time as others, since he had stopped halfway for his social fix. But man, was he tired. Hopefully, Kurokocchi would be satisfied with this and let him off the hook later.

Or not.

Kise flinched as Kuroko turned one eye towards him and then turned back without a word. Oh man, Kurokocchi was mad. It seemed that today's training would be even more terrifying.

Satsuki ignored Kise as he sulked in the shadow of Murasakibara. She took a quick scan at the tall giant, but he seemed alright as well. He had popped a lollipop into his mouth and covered his eyes with a towel. For all intent and purposes, he was sleeping. This was not a rare sight in the gym, since he did carried a heavier burden than anyone else in the team and was bound to be more exhausted by the same level of training ('Dai-chan' excluded).

Midorima was calmly investigating his finger tapings, but once in a while his eyes would flick between the two newcomers, Satsuki, and then to Akashi. He might not be the brains behind all those strategy meetings, but he also attended enough to know that Satsuki would never have brought anyone here if it was not related to their training.

Satsuki focused her attention on Akashi, who had been staring at her from since the break. She had mentioned this to him some months before about this possibility, but had not informed him about the progress. Not that she had time to beforehand.

Yuuka had shown up just yesterday, bringing along Michi. It was as much a surprise for her, for they had talked about it but no concrete plans were made. The coach would have to be convinced, the schools would have to agree, the team captain had to be consulted. None of it was finished before Yuuka came over. Luckily for them, the coach had left the team to her for three months, which meant that she had full control over what happened during this period. Teikou at least, would not object to this arrangement, if she had suggested it. All that was left now was convincing Akashi… and there was only one way to do it.

He would have to see for himself.

But before that, they had team training to do. Come hell or high water, the training would not be cancelled. And Akashi knew that, so for now, all she had to do was to bear his stare for the rest of the training and it would be fine. After almost two years of working closely with him, Satsuki felt that she could probably do it.

Probably.

And it was more than what could be said for the rest of the team, who immediately came to attention when Akashi looked at them each in return. How Murasakibara knew Akashi called for his attention, Satsuki had no idea. But the intensity of the stare was probably enough to wake him. That, or he had an inbuilt Akashi radar.

"Right, for today, Tetsu-kun, Dai-chan, and Midorin, you three are with Wakahisa-kun and Kato-kun. Akashi-kun, Muk-kun, and Ki-chan, please take care of Tachibana-kun and Nakamura-kun. You will compete against each other in a practice match for twenty minutes, and afterwards please gather before individual training as I have something to inform you all."

"Momoi, are they the ones you mentioned before?" Akashi asked her once the others left to get the first years that would be playing with them. Kuroko, who was just about to leave the bench, stopped once he caught the conversation. Since Satsuki was focused on Akashi, she probably did not notice him standing slightly behind her. But Kuroko was sure that Akashi knew he was there, even though he was not facing in his direction at all.

If it was supposed to be a private conversation, Akashi would know better than to do it while he was in range. Hence, Kuroko thought he might as well hear Satsuki's answer before he join the others. After all, it probably concerned their training. And Kuroko always thought it better to be prepared.

"A-Akashi-kun." Satsuki stuttered a little. She was not ready for their confrontation yet. Fumbling with an adequate explanation, she reached around blindly and managed to say. "You remembered?"

"Of course." A pause. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"I would have, but Yuu-chan showed up suddenly yesterday night, and you said you were not to be disturbed that evening since you were at the Shogi competition."

"I see."

"B-But, everything should be just as mentioned before, Akashi-kun."

"Well, if so, it should be alright. I expect to be informed next time something like that happens. Please leave me a message if I am not to be disturbed." The request was mildly placed, as were his words before. If anyone but Akashi had said it, the request would simply be polite, bordering arrogant. And yet to her, it was as if a ton of bricks hit her. She was torn between guilt for springing this on Akashi, and worry for self preservation.

"O-okay."

"Kuroko, let's get to the match."

"H-huh, ah Tetsu-kun! You were here?"

"Momoi-san," Kuroko half turned as he walked by, and said with a straight bland face. "If training is to be doubled, I will like honey lemons that are actually sliced."

"…!" Satsuki looked stunned as his words hit her sore spot – she could not prepare food. Half a second later, Satsuki was kneeling under a cloud of gloom, drawing imaginary circles on the ground. She had no idea if gaining Kuroko's attention this way was better than being ignored by him. Both seemed equally bad…

But wait! A light bulb appeared above her. That also mean that if she did double their training, he would eat the honey lemons she made!

Imaginary fire burned around her as she made plans for the training – she forgot about the honey lemons already. 'Shouldn't that be more important?' A tiny Aomine chibi shouted in her head, but Satsuki squashed it with thoughts of a beautified Kuroko and modifications of his words in her head. Unbeknownst to her, she had on a blissful face while her imagination ran wild.

Kuroko smiled inwardly at her predicted reaction. At least Momoi would not be upset at what Akashi said to her now.

…if only he knew what went on in her head, Kuroko might not have interfered.


End file.
